I am a Burmese exile taking a near-permanent refuge in New York and Sydney. Here are my essays about Burma and anything else I feel like writing about. And posting the articles I like from selected sites. Bridging Burma to the world this Blog is more of a Politically-Oriented Literary Blog than a Plain News Blog or a Sophisticated Thoughts Blog.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

North Korea Test Fired First Nuclear-Capable ICBM

North Korea said on Wednesday its newly
developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) can carry a large nuclear
warhead, triggering a call by Washington for global action to hold it
accountable for pursuing nuclear weapons.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Defense Department said it had concluded that
North Korea test-launched an ICBM on Tuesday, which some experts now believe
had the range to reach the U.S. state of Alaska as well as parts of the
mainland United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
said the test, on the eve of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, represented
"a new escalation of the threat" to the United States and its allies,
and vowed to take stronger measures.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said
the test completed his country's strategic weapons capability that includes
atomic and hydrogen bombs and ICBMs, the state KCNA news agency said. Pyongyang
would not negotiate with the United States to give up those weapons until
Washington abandons its hostile policy against the North, KCNA quoted Kim as
saying.

"He, with a broad smile on his
face, told officials, scientists and technicians that the U.S. would be
displeased ... as it was given a 'package of gifts' on its 'Independence
Day'," KCNA said. Kim ordered them to "frequently send big and small
'gift packages' to the Yankees," it added.

The launch came days before leaders
from the Group of 20 nations are due to discuss steps to rein in North Korea's
weapons program, which it has pursued in defiance of United Nations Security
Council sanctions.

The test successfully verified the
technical requirements of the newly developed ICBM in stage separation, the
atmospheric re-entry of the warhead and the late-stage control of the warhead,
KCNA said.

Tillerson warned that any country that
hosts North Korean workers, provides economic or military aid to Pyongyang, or
fails to implement U.N. sanctions "is aiding and abetting a dangerous
regime".

"All nations should publicly
demonstrate to North Korea that there are consequences to their pursuit of
nuclear weapons," Tillerson said in a statement.

DIPLOMATIC PRESSURE

U.S. President Donald Trump has been
urging China, North Korea's main trading partner and only big ally, to press
Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program. The U.N. Security Council, currently chaired
by China, will hold an emergency meeting on the matter at 3 p.m. EDT on
Wednesday, following a request by the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Diplomats say Beijing has not been
fully enforcing existing international sanctions on its neighbor, and has
resisted tougher measures, such as an oil embargo, bans on the North Korean
airline and guest workers, and measures against Chinese banks and other firms
doing business with the North.

A 2015 U.N. document estimated that
more than 50,000 North Korean workers were overseas earning currencies for the
regime, with the vast majority in China and Russia. North Korea appeared to
have used a Chinese truck, originally sold for hauling timber, but later
converted for military use, to transport and erect the missile on Tuesday.

Trump has indicated he is running out
of patience with Beijing's efforts to rein in North Korea. His administration
has said all options are on the table, military included, but suggested those
would be a last resort and that sanctions and diplomatic pressure were its
preferred course.

Trump is due to meet Chinese President
Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 meeting in
Germany this week. Russia and China joined diplomatic forces on Tuesday and
called for North Korea to suspend its ballistic missile program in return for a
moratorium on large-scale military exercises by the United States and South
Korea.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries
conducted a ballistic missile test early on Wednesday in a show of force on the
east coast of the Korean peninsula. The South said the drill aimed to showcase
the ability to strike at the North's leadership if necessary.

"It's discouraging that the
Chinese (and Russians) are still calling for 'restraint by all sides', despite
the fact that their client state, North Korea, has cast aside all restraint and
is sprinting for the finish line in demonstrating a nuclear-armed ICBM
capability," said Daniel Russel, formerly Washington’s top East Asia
diplomat, now a diplomat in residence at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

LONG-RANGE MISSILE

The North's state media said the
missile, Hwasong-14, flew 933 km (580 miles), reaching an altitude of 2,802 km
(1,741 miles) in its 39 minutes of flight. Some analysts said the flight
details suggested the new missile had a range of more than 8,000 km (4,970
miles), which would put significant parts of the U.S. mainland in range, a
major advance in the North's program.

The launch was both earlier and
"far more successful than expected", said U.S.-based missile expert
John Schilling, a contributor to the Washington-based North Korea monitoring
project, 38 North. It would now probably only be a year or two before a North
Korean ICBM achieved "minimal operational capability," he added.

Experts say a reliable nuclear-tipped
ICBM would require a small warhead to fit a long-range missile, technology to
protect against intense heat as it re-enters the atmosphere, separate the
warhead and guide it to its target.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who ordered Wednesday's drill, said,
"The situation was no longer sufficient to respond to the North's
provocation by making statements," according to his office. Tuesday's
missile test poses fresh challenges for Moon, who took office in May with a pledge
to engage the North in dialogue while keeping up pressure and sanctions to
impede its weapons programs.

His defense minister, Han Min-koo, told
parliament on Wednesday there was a high possibility of a sixth nuclear test by
the North, but there were no specific indications.

Fat Kim is wasting money on ICBMs while North Korean children are starving.